Ok, so I think I am sticking with the topic about Creative Commons and copyright. Well, for now anyway.. ;)
Just here to make a list of some possible useful resources that I can use throughout the week.
Websites:
Creative Commons Australia
Creative Commons
Australian Copyright Council
What is Intellectual Property?
Books:
International Copyright: Principals, Laws and Practice - Goldstein
Digital Copyright: Protecting Individual Property on the Internet - Litman
Copyright Enforcement and the Internet - Stamatoudi
Copyright on the Internet Illustrated: Essentials - Waxer & Baum
Copyright & The Internet: A Discussion Paper - Australian Copyright Council
Creative Commons: Business, Social & Educational Implications - Sornum
Intellectual Property and Information Wealth: Copyright and Related Rights - Yu
This seems like a lot to wade through, and I fear that most of it will contain the same basic information. Now I am pondering if I can stretch this out to 2000 words? I will have to do a bit more research and try to think of how I want to position myself in the essay before I make a decision, I think..
Monday, January 31, 2011
Response to Lecture 2.5 - Media Ecology and the Invisible Environment
I was unable to be at this lecture unfortunately, but I have gone through the slides online and wanted to post a little running commentary on them as I go back through them. This isn't a required post for the tutorials, so I'm not taking it too seriously, so I will just write some quick notes in dot points!
- Firstly, I love the cartoon depicting the difference between media and mediums. I like to think I understood the concept and the correct terminology before, but now it is even more clear.
- What is Media Ecology? Well I'd assume that it is the study of the media environment.. Which I'm assuming is what the next slide is going to say, which in turn is this invisible environment that we're looking at?
- The Extensions of Man theory is really interesting. Never had I thought of those ideas, but now that I have seen them, I wonder how those connections crossed my mind before, it seems so obvious!
- So, Postman believes that technology is just the use of techniques by people, but when those techniques have a social or cultural purpose, they become media? So, communication has a social and cultural purpose and is therefore media. Does this equate to (and I'm trying to create an analogy here) the process of talking, the actual functions involved in the action itself, being the technology, and when that technology is being used in order to convey a message, through talking to someone, it is the media? Wow, I think that is very hard to follow, it makes sense in my head. It is late at night, that's my excuse and I am sticking to it!
Tutorial Task 2.5 - Media Inventory
The following is going to be a list of the various types of media that I encounter throughout an average day.
I've always been somewhat aware of how much media I am immersed in every day, but completing this list so quickly and knowing I could add many many more if I put my mind to it, is a little alarming. It is also assuming to think back to when I was a child, and how small my list would have been back then.... How things change, eh?
- iPhone alarm waking me up
- Text messages
- Voicemail
- Social media (ie. Facebook and Twitter)
- Websites
- Radio
- Television
- Billboards
- Street Signs
- Food packaging
- Tobacco packaging
- Son's school uniform
- Other packaged items (soaps, deodorants, toothpaste etc)
- My son whinging and asking for McDonald's, KFC or Red Rooster (a DIRECT result and example of the impact of the media!!!)
I've always been somewhat aware of how much media I am immersed in every day, but completing this list so quickly and knowing I could add many many more if I put my mind to it, is a little alarming. It is also assuming to think back to when I was a child, and how small my list would have been back then.... How things change, eh?
Tutorial Task 2.4 -Examining Net.Art
Today's task requires us to examine at least three of digital poet, Jason Nelson's, digital creations. We are then required to respond to the following questions about the way we interact with the work:
How does it make you feel?
What does it makes you think about?
What are the other media forms that it uses, or is similar to?
If we accept that Jason's works are poetry - How do you "read" digital poetry like that?
Wittenoom:
I am a little unsure about how this piece of e-Art made me feel. It confused me a little. If it were a poem, written in stanzas, I probably would have understood it less as I wouldn't have the background music creating a mood, I wouldn't have the pictures provoking thought. But then, by that token, perhaps I would have understood it more, or been able to come up with my own interpretation of the art due to the lack of distractions and the ease of reading and contemplation?
Birds Still Warm From Flying:
Again, I am a little confused. Perhaps I am just poetically illiterate? Or so uncultured that I don't understand anything? Perhaps I shouldn't be admitting that in a public place? I found this one hard to follow, which perhaps was the point. The music was distracting, and the text hard to read as it overlapped each other, or was too small. Perhaps I just have a silly computer? Either way, I got irritated with it and moved onto...
Evidence of Everything Exploding This:
Now this one looks interesting, I am still waiting for it to load, but there is a blurb on the front page which I completely comprehend and I actually have a basis of thought for what I am looking at. Let's see if I change my views once it is loaded.. Woah, freaked out by the prophecies created in this piece of e-Art. Whilst, again, this was a little busy, I think that was the point. This would have to be my favourite piece of work so far, possibly due to the aforementioned blurb that, which made it what I was looking at more clear.
By the way, Adam, maybe you should tell Jason that in the blurb for this game he used the wrong form of its!! (that's the teacher in me.. and I have probably made a fool of myself, as his misuse, knowing my luck, is probably some sort of form of irony!)
Stunningly Harmful Songs:
This is a collection of videos with a song being sung in the background, and bordered by an animated scene and title. The work that I enjoyed the most was titled Super Heaven and was a video of the contents of one's fridge, with the lyrics repeating the words super heaven. Perhaps to some people, the contents of the fridge really is a super version of heaven? Perhaps they are referring to supermarket heaven.. All of the products bought and consumed from these grocery chains is obviously their main goal, right?
Ok, so it was clear here that most of these works confused me a little, mostly due to the overuse of media (audio, written words, videos etc), which tended to cloud the message a little for me. In all though, I do consider these works as art, and more specificially, poetry.
As Griffith (2006) noted, authors created their literature in order to express ideas for us, as the readers, to enjoy, interpret and analyse (if one wishes). In these works, Jason Nelson, has indeed intended to pass upon a message, and while it is in a somewhat non-conventional format, it is still poetry. How do we read digital poetry such as this, you ask? Well, my answer is that you read it the same way as you read any poetry. Griffith (2006) believes that to interpret literature, and in this case, poetry, one needs to use their imagination to relate the work to their experiences and to actively theorise about the meaning behind the literature as one is reading. Won't this mean that each person's interpretation may be different, just as with 'normal', traditional poetry? The fact that it is e-Art and in digital form doesn't change what it is, it just makes the experience that more involved and, possibly, thought provoking.
How does it make you feel?
What does it makes you think about?
What are the other media forms that it uses, or is similar to?
If we accept that Jason's works are poetry - How do you "read" digital poetry like that?
Wittenoom:
I am a little unsure about how this piece of e-Art made me feel. It confused me a little. If it were a poem, written in stanzas, I probably would have understood it less as I wouldn't have the background music creating a mood, I wouldn't have the pictures provoking thought. But then, by that token, perhaps I would have understood it more, or been able to come up with my own interpretation of the art due to the lack of distractions and the ease of reading and contemplation?
Birds Still Warm From Flying:
Again, I am a little confused. Perhaps I am just poetically illiterate? Or so uncultured that I don't understand anything? Perhaps I shouldn't be admitting that in a public place? I found this one hard to follow, which perhaps was the point. The music was distracting, and the text hard to read as it overlapped each other, or was too small. Perhaps I just have a silly computer? Either way, I got irritated with it and moved onto...
Evidence of Everything Exploding This:
Now this one looks interesting, I am still waiting for it to load, but there is a blurb on the front page which I completely comprehend and I actually have a basis of thought for what I am looking at. Let's see if I change my views once it is loaded.. Woah, freaked out by the prophecies created in this piece of e-Art. Whilst, again, this was a little busy, I think that was the point. This would have to be my favourite piece of work so far, possibly due to the aforementioned blurb that, which made it what I was looking at more clear.
By the way, Adam, maybe you should tell Jason that in the blurb for this game he used the wrong form of its!! (that's the teacher in me.. and I have probably made a fool of myself, as his misuse, knowing my luck, is probably some sort of form of irony!)
Stunningly Harmful Songs:
This is a collection of videos with a song being sung in the background, and bordered by an animated scene and title. The work that I enjoyed the most was titled Super Heaven and was a video of the contents of one's fridge, with the lyrics repeating the words super heaven. Perhaps to some people, the contents of the fridge really is a super version of heaven? Perhaps they are referring to supermarket heaven.. All of the products bought and consumed from these grocery chains is obviously their main goal, right?
Ok, so it was clear here that most of these works confused me a little, mostly due to the overuse of media (audio, written words, videos etc), which tended to cloud the message a little for me. In all though, I do consider these works as art, and more specificially, poetry.
As Griffith (2006) noted, authors created their literature in order to express ideas for us, as the readers, to enjoy, interpret and analyse (if one wishes). In these works, Jason Nelson, has indeed intended to pass upon a message, and while it is in a somewhat non-conventional format, it is still poetry. How do we read digital poetry such as this, you ask? Well, my answer is that you read it the same way as you read any poetry. Griffith (2006) believes that to interpret literature, and in this case, poetry, one needs to use their imagination to relate the work to their experiences and to actively theorise about the meaning behind the literature as one is reading. Won't this mean that each person's interpretation may be different, just as with 'normal', traditional poetry? The fact that it is e-Art and in digital form doesn't change what it is, it just makes the experience that more involved and, possibly, thought provoking.
References
Griffith, K. (2006). Writing essays about literature: A guide and style sheet. Boston, MA: Thomson Wadsworth.
Nelson, J. (n.d.). Secret technology: Net art: Digital poetry: Video oddities. Retrieved January 31, 2011, from http://secrettechnology.com/
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Response to Reading 2.2 - The Military Entertainment Complex
I found this article to be very interesting, enlightening and alarming.
First, I found it amusing the facts that were brought up about how the White House was, in a sense, big noting itself and basically telling the country to keep their eyes peeled for the action to come, and forgetting that the power of the media and complaining about the war being different to what they had planned for. It's not always wise to create such a big hype, particularly to make yourself look good, and warn the opposition of your game plan, I'm not some experienced strategist, but even I see the lack of sense in that.
The most alarming point of the reading, and one which made me feel quite naive, was that regarding Private Jessica . Exploiting a story and stretching the facts to gain audience approval, and in this case, approval of the nation in regard to their involvement in the war, including special effects to add 'dazzle', and to be entertaining and 'gamelike', in order to win much needed support.
Interesting was the discussion about propaganda, and the use of entertainment to convey and manipulate audiences with a message that suits the requirements of their own regime. The underlying messages in Casablanca is remarkable. I for one have never seen the movie, but I know it is a great romance, little did I know it was passing on such a message. I guess I need to look at movies a little more critically now? Otherwise I won't fall in love and live happily ever after unless I support the war in Iraq, right?! Where do I finds me a soldier?!
First, I found it amusing the facts that were brought up about how the White House was, in a sense, big noting itself and basically telling the country to keep their eyes peeled for the action to come, and forgetting that the power of the media and complaining about the war being different to what they had planned for. It's not always wise to create such a big hype, particularly to make yourself look good, and warn the opposition of your game plan, I'm not some experienced strategist, but even I see the lack of sense in that.
The most alarming point of the reading, and one which made me feel quite naive, was that regarding Private Jessica . Exploiting a story and stretching the facts to gain audience approval, and in this case, approval of the nation in regard to their involvement in the war, including special effects to add 'dazzle', and to be entertaining and 'gamelike', in order to win much needed support.
Interesting was the discussion about propaganda, and the use of entertainment to convey and manipulate audiences with a message that suits the requirements of their own regime. The underlying messages in Casablanca is remarkable. I for one have never seen the movie, but I know it is a great romance, little did I know it was passing on such a message. I guess I need to look at movies a little more critically now? Otherwise I won't fall in love and live happily ever after unless I support the war in Iraq, right?! Where do I finds me a soldier?!
References
Stockwell, S., & Muir, A. (2003). The military-entertainment complex: A new facet of information warfare. The fibreculture journal (1).
Essay Woes
I have been contemplating my essay topic a little further and I thought I had decided on discussing the impact of two different people upon digital technologies and culture; after all I do know Doug Engelbart's birthday now, surely I am qualified to talk about him? Or how about Ada Lovelace, the world's first recognised computer programmer? And the only woman in the list, I might add.. (what a legend!)
I thought this would be a really interesting topic to cover in my essay, but now I am pondering if I should talk about copyright and Creative Commons, seeing as I learnt so much about it last week in lectures and readings and in making my video
I guess either way I need to make a decision, seeing as it is due at the end of this week. Perhaps I should just pick one of the other topics instead?!
I thought this would be a really interesting topic to cover in my essay, but now I am pondering if I should talk about copyright and Creative Commons, seeing as I learnt so much about it last week in lectures and readings and in making my video
I guess either way I need to make a decision, seeing as it is due at the end of this week. Perhaps I should just pick one of the other topics instead?!
Tutorial Task 2.2 - Internet Based Political Participation
The tasks for this tutorial are listed below. A link to where you can view my response to the task, or information about the task will be provided after the task requirements.
· Sign an e-petition.
I signed a petition calling on the Prime Minister to listen to the will of the Australian people and enact a Human Rights Act. You can sign this petition here.
· Respond to a professional blogger at a major news site.
I responded to a blog written by Janet Albrechtsen, who writes for The Australian, about literacy and the lack of skills teachers have to teach children to read. This article is actually a couple of years old, but you can view my comment here (once it has been approved).
· What is Barak Obama up to today?
What is Barak Obama up to today? Find out by reading his TWITTER!! Hehe.
You can also visit his official website which contains a blog outlining what Barak has been up to, including videos and news about his recent State of the Union address. One thing though, to get into the site, I had to input a valid email and post code. Australian postcodes are not valid, so what did I put in? The only US postcode I know – 90210! Ha ha! And then it redirected me to a page to donate funds.. I don’t think so, Barak! Luckily I am clever and changed the URL so I could skip that nonsense and get to the homepage!
· Find out who your local, state and federal representatives are.
Local Representative: Ian McKenzie
State Representative: Cameron Dick
Federal Representative: Kevin Rudd
· Look up the Queensland or Australian hansard to find the last time your local member spoke in parliament.
24 October 2010
· What do you think of the Australian Government's plans to censor the internet (the so-called "Clean Feed")???
I think the “Clean Feed” is a ridiculous idea. Its initial intentions of being a means to eradicate child porn were admirable, but it has hurricaned into something much bigger, extending the policy to include a wider range of content. Being a part of democracy means we should have access to free speech, right? Well how is restricting us giving us that opportunity?
And what is the point of blocking child pornography, when file sharing programs remain unblocked, allowing users to distribute as much child pornography as they like? It all seems a little redundant, doesn’t it?
To me, this is the result of an idea formed by a bunch of old-fashioned, cynical bigots who wish to impose their narrow-minded views/ways onto the rest of the country.
I think the “Clean Feed” is a ridiculous idea. Its initial intentions of being a means to eradicate child porn were admirable, but it has hurricaned into something much bigger, extending the policy to include a wider range of content. Being a part of democracy means we should have access to free speech, right? Well how is restricting us giving us that opportunity?
And what is the point of blocking child pornography, when file sharing programs remain unblocked, allowing users to distribute as much child pornography as they like? It all seems a little redundant, doesn’t it?
To me, this is the result of an idea formed by a bunch of old-fashioned, cynical bigots who wish to impose their narrow-minded views/ways onto the rest of the country.
· What place does censorship have in a democracy?
Censorship has no place in a democracy because it destroys one of the key factors that make a democracy so; that talk is possibly the important element of democratic activity. Therefore, in order to participate in a democracy, one must have access to free speech. If censorship occurs, then that freedom of speech is gone, as is our participation in a democratic society. Censorship and democracy, sounds like a bit of an oxymoron, doesn’t it?
Happy Birthday!
In my travels today, I discovered it is Douglas Engelbart's birthday today!
Happy 86th birthday, computer genius and computer mouse inventor!! :)
Happy 86th birthday, computer genius and computer mouse inventor!! :)
Response to Reading 2.1 - Personal Relationship On and Off the Internet
This reading, based around personal relationships that are formed and maintained through online communication and its impact upon offline relationships, was very interesting. It discussed both negative and positive viewpoints about upholding online relationships, both of which I can relate to. I’d like to discuss some points that reading this article has brought to mind.
Daft and Lengel (1986) argue that people should choose face to face interactions over impersonal written media, in today’s computer and Internet driven society, this poses to be a significant problem for some. I know that personally, I prefer the less rich form of media where I can write/email/text people, particularly people I do not know well. For me, this is an issue with self confidence; I am mostly scared of confrontation and written confrontation is more easy to bear than that which occurs face to face. Therefore, if I ever need to contact anyone of importance, or have an issue/problem of which I wish to dispute, I will always attempt to email the person first in preference of making a phone call or a face to face visit. Does this mean I am socially impaired in some way? Has the Internet and its ease of impersonal communication harmed my social skills?
Another interesting point that was raised in this reading was the result of a study completed in 2002 which tracked the Internet use of 948 Americans to see if it harmed ‘real-life’ social relationships. The results found few differences in patterns of communication between those that do and do not use the Internet (Robinson, Kestnbaum, Neustadtl, & Alvarez, 2002). Personally, and from my own experiences, I find this to be quite wrong. I know this may not be the case for a lot of Internet users, but I know that the Internet has impacted the lives, or lack thereof, of many people I have known both in ‘real-life’ and online. It may sound silly, but Internet addiction is rather common and it does impair one’s ability to interact functionally in day to day society; with frequent Internet users known to stay up all night using the Internet or playing games, choosing to interact online rather than offline, making and maintaining friendships online rather than offline. I know that when I was younger my Internet use impacted upon my results at school and my family was concerned about the amount of time I spent on the Internet, but luckily for me it was a novelty that did wear off. I do still use the Internet a lot, but to a lesser extent and for different purposes than when I was in my late teens and early 20s.
These are only two points that occurred to me whilst doing this reading, but to me, they both revolve around the same principal. I think that the Internet is a haven for those who have low self-esteem and self-confidence. It allows people to form friendships/relationships with people that may be difficult or impossible for a person to do in real-life, it allows people to not feel ashamed or scared about how people will judge their looks, ethnicity etc; therefore allowing one to have an identity and confidence online that is unable to be portray to the real world. I think it is these types of people, which do include myself, that are impacted by the points that I discussed above.
References
Boase, J., & Wellman, B. (2004). Personal relationships: On and off the Internet. Retrieved January 2011, 29, from http://homes.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman/publications/personal_relations/PR-Cambridge-Boase-Wellman-ch2-final-doc.htm
Daft, R., & Lengel, R. (1986). Organizational information requirements, media richness and structural design. Management science , 32, 554-571.
Robinson, J., Kestnbaum, M., Neustadtl, A., & Alvarez, A. (2002). Information technology and functional time displacement. IT & society , 1, 21-36.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Tutorial Task 2.1 - Optional - Google Yourself!
Ok, so I took a minute or two to Google myself.. and have to say I was pleasantly surprised!
In the 'everything' search, it came back with 15 hits. All of which are things I am aware of and don't really reveal anything about me that I don't wish to be known; such as, my profile page that was created for fundraising for the Bridge to Brisbane and my Threadless t-shirts profile (perhaps people knowing what witty shirts I like to buy is a bad thing?!).
I did an image and search result for my full name and only one image came up, which was one of my profile pictures from Facebook. Not sure why that one isn't private, like the rest of my pictures, but I am not too concerned at this point.
I'll just have to make sure I regularly Google myself so I am aware of what aspects of my life are being shared with the world!
In the 'everything' search, it came back with 15 hits. All of which are things I am aware of and don't really reveal anything about me that I don't wish to be known; such as, my profile page that was created for fundraising for the Bridge to Brisbane and my Threadless t-shirts profile (perhaps people knowing what witty shirts I like to buy is a bad thing?!).
I did an image and search result for my full name and only one image came up, which was one of my profile pictures from Facebook. Not sure why that one isn't private, like the rest of my pictures, but I am not too concerned at this point.
I'll just have to make sure I regularly Google myself so I am aware of what aspects of my life are being shared with the world!
Tutorial Task 2.1 - Scavenger Hunt
So for this tutorial task, we have to use a search engine to find the answers to a list of given questions, without using Google or Wikipedia. I, thinking I am completely hilarious, am going to use Ask.com. I wouldn't normally use this search engine, but 'back in the day' this was called Ask Jeeves, and I found the concept amazing that I could type in a question and it would give me the answer!
So here I go, I am going to 'Ask Jeeves'!!.
1. What is the weight of the world’s biggest machine? How much did it cost to build?
This question tends to be a little ambiguous, as it asks the weight for the world's biggest machine but doesn't specify if biggest refers to heaviest or largest in physical dimensions.
One machine that would definitely be in contention for the winner of the heaviest machine would have to be the Knock Nevis, which is the world's largest supertanker and weighs a whopping 564 763 tonnes. The Knock Nevis cost an estimated $9 billion to be constructed.
In regard to actual physical size and dimensions, what I believe to be the world's largest machine is the Large Hadron Collider
, a particle accelerator located near Geneva, Switzerland. This machine has a length of 27km and a circumference of approximately 175m. The Large Hadron Collider cost approximately $8.4 billion in total to construct.
Sources:
http://www.bukisa.com/articles/40463_worlds-largest-machines-ever-built
http://www.vincelewis.net/viking.html
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-largest-machine-in-the-world.htm
http://www.moneyweek.com/news-and-charts/economics/what-is-the-worlds-biggest-machine-costing-us-13577.aspx
2. Find a live webcam in Antarctica. Can you find a place to stay in Antarctica?
<a href="http://www.live-webcam-directory.com/antarctica/live-webcam-mawson-station.html" title="Mawson Station live webcam">Mawson Station Live Webcam</a>
This links you to the live webcam at Mawson Station, Antarctica. This is a still image taken from the webcam.
Now, as for a place to stay in Antarctica, short of camping (brrr, forget that!), your best bet for accommodation is on a boat/ship as, apparently, there are no hotels physically located on the mainland. An example of a vessel that could be utilised as accommodation is the Aleksey Maryshev, which is not only a research vessel but also provides accommodation for up to 46 travelers.
Sources:
3. When and what was the first example of global digital communication?
Before I officially answer this question, can I just say that in the search results that I was perusing about global digital communication, I found a link to the contact information for Ozzy Osbourne.. Hmm, ok?! How very odd!!
Anyways, back to the real answer..
In 1837, line telegraphy was perfected and was noted as an important event in the history of electronic communication. In following years, things such as the telephone and wireless telegraphy were produced, improving communication systems further.
Sources:
4. What is the cheapest form of travel from the Gold Coast to Melbourne?
The cheapest way I found to travel from the Gold Coast to Melbourne was via Tiger Airways. The question didn't specify where in Melbourne one was travelling to, so I checked fares for both the Tullamarine and Avalon airports. The cheapest flight available landed at Avalon airport in Melbourne and was a discounted sale fare priced at $46.34.
Sources:
http://www.webjet.com.au
http://booking.tigerairways.com/
5. Who is Douglas Engelbart? What is he known for?
Douglas Engelbart is most famous for his invention of the computer mouse, which was developed in the 1960s, but not used commercially until the 1980s. Engelbart invented a number of interactive, computer based systems years before personal computers became commonplace in society.
Sources:
6. What is the best way (quickest, most reliable) to contact Stephen Conroy? (who is this guy?)
My results for this search brought up several Stephen Conroys, including an artist, the Australian minister for Broadband and a lawyer based in Louisiana. For relevance sake, I will focus on the Australian minister for Broadband, but if you want contact details for either of the other two, let me know!
Stephen Conroy is the Australian Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy. In this role, his responsibilities include overseeing the National Broadband Network, the digital television switchover, media policy, community broadcasting, as well as cyber security and safety.
As Stephen Conroy is obviously a very busy man, I'd suggest the best way to contact him would be via email. However, there are a range of other options, including telephone and fax, details of which can be accessed on his contact page.
Sources:
7. What song was top of the Australian pop charts this week in 1990?
For some reason, Asking Jeeves about this wasn't very helpful and it took me quite some time to find the answer to this question! But.. I do have it.. The number 1 song in the Australian Pop Charts for the week ending 28, January, 1990 was... *insert drumroll here*...
Love Shack by The B-52s!!
Wow, what a year 1990 was.. what a decade it started! I may well spend all day going through these charts and reminiscing now!!
Sources:
8. How would you define the term 'ontology'? In your own words, what does it really mean?
The camera used to create the images in Google Street View is called a Dodeca 2360, which is a softball-size camera that records from almost 12 different angles at 30fps.
Sources:
10. Name three computer operating systems (not for phones) that are NOT Apple OS or MS-Windows operating systems?
a) who created it and when? b) how can you get a copy of the operating system to use on your computer?
Unix: Development of Unix started in the late 1960s by members of the Multics team. Today, many other organisations and individuals contribute to the Unix that is used today. In 1991, a variant of Unix, called Linux, was introduced in Finland by a student named Linus Torvalds. Derivatives of Unix can be downloaded for free from here.
MS-DOS: v1.0 of MS-DOS was created and released by Microsoft in 1981. MS-DOS is short for Microsoft Disk Operation System and is a command line operating system. Most modern Windows based computers contain MS-DOS as well as the GUI, Microsoft Windows. To run a DOS operating system on its own, one can visit here and download FreeDOS, which is a DOS compatible OS for IBM-PC compatible systems.
Haiku: A fast and efficient open source operating system inspired by the BeOS, which specifically targets personal computing. Although work commenced on the Haiku OS in 2001, the system was not released until mid 2010. Haiku can be downloaded here for use on your computer, in the future, one will also be able to purchase an installation CD if that method of installation is preferred.
Sources:
So here I go, I am going to 'Ask Jeeves'!!.
1. What is the weight of the world’s biggest machine? How much did it cost to build?
This question tends to be a little ambiguous, as it asks the weight for the world's biggest machine but doesn't specify if biggest refers to heaviest or largest in physical dimensions.
One machine that would definitely be in contention for the winner of the heaviest machine would have to be the Knock Nevis, which is the world's largest supertanker and weighs a whopping 564 763 tonnes. The Knock Nevis cost an estimated $9 billion to be constructed.
In regard to actual physical size and dimensions, what I believe to be the world's largest machine is the Large Hadron Collider
, a particle accelerator located near Geneva, Switzerland. This machine has a length of 27km and a circumference of approximately 175m. The Large Hadron Collider cost approximately $8.4 billion in total to construct.
Sources:
http://www.bukisa.com/articles/40463_worlds-largest-machines-ever-built
http://www.vincelewis.net/viking.html
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-largest-machine-in-the-world.htm
http://www.moneyweek.com/news-and-charts/economics/what-is-the-worlds-biggest-machine-costing-us-13577.aspx
2. Find a live webcam in Antarctica. Can you find a place to stay in Antarctica?
<a href="http://www.live-webcam-directory.com/antarctica/live-webcam-mawson-station.html" title="Mawson Station live webcam">Mawson Station Live Webcam</a>
This links you to the live webcam at Mawson Station, Antarctica. This is a still image taken from the webcam.
Now, as for a place to stay in Antarctica, short of camping (brrr, forget that!), your best bet for accommodation is on a boat/ship as, apparently, there are no hotels physically located on the mainland. An example of a vessel that could be utilised as accommodation is the Aleksey Maryshev, which is not only a research vessel but also provides accommodation for up to 46 travelers.
Sources:
3. When and what was the first example of global digital communication?
Before I officially answer this question, can I just say that in the search results that I was perusing about global digital communication, I found a link to the contact information for Ozzy Osbourne.. Hmm, ok?! How very odd!!
Anyways, back to the real answer..
In 1837, line telegraphy was perfected and was noted as an important event in the history of electronic communication. In following years, things such as the telephone and wireless telegraphy were produced, improving communication systems further.
Sources:
http://glennavendano.com/Course_Lectures/Digital_Comm/OverviewDigitalComm.pdf
4. What is the cheapest form of travel from the Gold Coast to Melbourne?
The cheapest way I found to travel from the Gold Coast to Melbourne was via Tiger Airways. The question didn't specify where in Melbourne one was travelling to, so I checked fares for both the Tullamarine and Avalon airports. The cheapest flight available landed at Avalon airport in Melbourne and was a discounted sale fare priced at $46.34.
Sources:
http://www.webjet.com.au
http://booking.tigerairways.com/
5. Who is Douglas Engelbart? What is he known for?
Douglas Engelbart is most famous for his invention of the computer mouse, which was developed in the 1960s, but not used commercially until the 1980s. Engelbart invented a number of interactive, computer based systems years before personal computers became commonplace in society.
Sources:
http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventors/engelbart.htm
6. What is the best way (quickest, most reliable) to contact Stephen Conroy? (who is this guy?)
My results for this search brought up several Stephen Conroys, including an artist, the Australian minister for Broadband and a lawyer based in Louisiana. For relevance sake, I will focus on the Australian minister for Broadband, but if you want contact details for either of the other two, let me know!
Stephen Conroy is the Australian Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy. In this role, his responsibilities include overseeing the National Broadband Network, the digital television switchover, media policy, community broadcasting, as well as cyber security and safety.
As Stephen Conroy is obviously a very busy man, I'd suggest the best way to contact him would be via email. However, there are a range of other options, including telephone and fax, details of which can be accessed on his contact page.
Sources:
7. What song was top of the Australian pop charts this week in 1990?
For some reason, Asking Jeeves about this wasn't very helpful and it took me quite some time to find the answer to this question! But.. I do have it.. The number 1 song in the Australian Pop Charts for the week ending 28, January, 1990 was... *insert drumroll here*...
Love Shack by The B-52s!!
Wow, what a year 1990 was.. what a decade it started! I may well spend all day going through these charts and reminiscing now!!
Sources:
8. How would you define the term 'ontology'? In your own words, what does it really mean?
Definitions of 'ontology'
[on-tol-uh-jee] 
(noun)
1. the branch of metaphysics studying existence or being
Definitions of ontology
1. [n] - the metaphysical study of the nature of being and existence
My own interpretation of what ontology means:
Admittedly, I didn't know what this word meant before I had to answer this question, so hooray for learning new things. From what I have found out about my search, ontology basically is the study of one's existence and being; investigating the relationships between all beings and the principles and causes of being. (Wow, there are too many 'beings' in that sentence...)
Sources:
9. What type of camera is used to make ‘Google Street View’?1. [n] - the metaphysical study of the nature of being and existence
My own interpretation of what ontology means:
Admittedly, I didn't know what this word meant before I had to answer this question, so hooray for learning new things. From what I have found out about my search, ontology basically is the study of one's existence and being; investigating the relationships between all beings and the principles and causes of being. (Wow, there are too many 'beings' in that sentence...)
Sources:
The camera used to create the images in Google Street View is called a Dodeca 2360, which is a softball-size camera that records from almost 12 different angles at 30fps.
Sources:
10. Name three computer operating systems (not for phones) that are NOT Apple OS or MS-Windows operating systems?
a) who created it and when? b) how can you get a copy of the operating system to use on your computer?
Unix: Development of Unix started in the late 1960s by members of the Multics team. Today, many other organisations and individuals contribute to the Unix that is used today. In 1991, a variant of Unix, called Linux, was introduced in Finland by a student named Linus Torvalds. Derivatives of Unix can be downloaded for free from here.
MS-DOS: v1.0 of MS-DOS was created and released by Microsoft in 1981. MS-DOS is short for Microsoft Disk Operation System and is a command line operating system. Most modern Windows based computers contain MS-DOS as well as the GUI, Microsoft Windows. To run a DOS operating system on its own, one can visit here and download FreeDOS, which is a DOS compatible OS for IBM-PC compatible systems.
Haiku: A fast and efficient open source operating system inspired by the BeOS, which specifically targets personal computing. Although work commenced on the Haiku OS in 2001, the system was not released until mid 2010. Haiku can be downloaded here for use on your computer, in the future, one will also be able to purchase an installation CD if that method of installation is preferred.
Sources:
Monday, January 24, 2011
Tutorial Task 1.5 - Video Creation Using Windows Live Movie Maker
Please see my attempt at creating a video below. I chose to focus my theme around the recent South-East QLD floods, as it has been a disaster that has impacted many of us.
Unfortunately I do not have a lot of my own photos, so I have spent days scouring the Internet for photos, videos and sound files available under Creative Commons Licenses that I can use. All property that belongs to other people has been attributed to them in the video.
I hope you enjoy what I have put together.
This video is licensed under
CC BY-NC-ND 3.0.
Unfortunately I do not have a lot of my own photos, so I have spent days scouring the Internet for photos, videos and sound files available under Creative Commons Licenses that I can use. All property that belongs to other people has been attributed to them in the video.
I hope you enjoy what I have put together.
This video is licensed under
CC BY-NC-ND 3.0.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)